Safety door lock



May 12, 1959 A. E. BLUMENT'HAL 2,886,363

SAFETY DOOR LOCK Filed Feb. 8, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. M W BY 1wATTORNEYS.

y 1959 A. E. BLL JMENTHAL 2,886,363

SAFETY DOOR LOCK Filed Feb. 8, 1956 2 Sheets-Shed 2 IN VENTOR.

ATTORNEYS United States Patent SAFETY DOOR LOCK Arthur E. Blumenthal,Chicago, Ill. 7 Application February 8, 1956, Serial No. 564,224

' 6 Claims. c1. 292-92 This invention relates to a door lock structure,and more especially to a safety release door lock. The door lock hasutility in substantially any installation wherein it is desired topermit opening and closing of a door from both the inside and outsidethereof, yet wherein it is desired on occasions to make the door lockinoperative from the outside but to provide a safety release on theinner side thereof.

There are numerous applications for a safety release lock of the typeherein considered. Exemplary uses therefor are large walk-inrefrigerators such as those used in meat packing plants and retailstores, and those that are mobile in character such as refrigeratedrailway cars and trucks. In structures of this type, it is necessarythat the door lock device be operable from either side of the door. Itis also necessary, however, that provision be made for rendering thedoor lock inoperative (that is, locking it) 'so that the door cannot beopened from the outer side thereof by unauthorized persons. However,this poses a problem in that, while infrequent, it does occasionallyhappen that someone is inadvertently locked inside -ofthe compartment;and since in lock devices of the past, rendering the lock inoperativefrom the outside also made it inoperative from the inside of the door,there was -no way such person could escape from the locked compartment.

1 There is and has long been a need for a door lock device which can belocked or made operative from the outer side of a closure door so as toprevent unauthorized.

persons from opening the door, but which at the same time permits thedoor to be opened at will from the inner side thereof, and it is,accordingly, an object of this invention to provide such a lock device.Another object of'the invention is to provide a lock assembly useful inconjunction with relatively thick doors, such as the insulated doors ofrefrigerators, which ordinarily can be manipulated from either side ofthe door but which can be locked to prevent opening of the door from theouter i side thereof, and which is equippedwith means to permit the lockto be released, even though it is in locked condition, from the innerside of the door.

. .Yet another object of the invention is in the provision of a lock ofthe character described having a bolt manipulatable by an outer handleand having also an inner handle longitudinally movable into engagementwith the outer handle to'push it into a position for releasing the bolt,and which is also rotatable and operative when rotated to draw the boltto a retracted position even though the structure is locked, wherebymanipulation of the outer handle is prevented. Yet another object is toprovide a lock casing having a bolt longitudinally slidable therein, anouter handle for manipulating the bolt, and an inner handle engageablewith the outer handle for moving the same, and wherein means areprovided for insertion of a pin'through thelock casing (as, for example,by insert-- ing the'link of a padlock therethrough) to prevent movementof the bolt and thereby obviate normal operation of both the outer andinner handles, but wherein a structural Patented May 12, 1959arrangement is provided Within the lock for by-passing such a pin whenthe inner handle is rotated, whereby the device even when locked can beopened from the inner side of a door by rotating the inner side of thehandle. Additional objects and advantages will become apparent as thespecification develops.

An embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the lock device positioned on theinsulated closure door of a refrigerated compartment; Figure 2 is alongitudinal sectional view taken through the lock device; Figure 3 is alongitudinal sectional view similar to that of Figure 2, but showing thefunctional parts thereof in a different position; Figure 4 is a bottomplan view of the lock device; and Figure 5 is an exploded perspectiveview of certain of the components of the lock.

' As has been brought out hereinbefore, the lock is useful in a numberof different applications; and in Figure 1 is shown mounted on the outerface or panel 10 of a closure door 11 having an inner face or panel 12sepaparted from the outer panel by a body of insulating material 13. Theclosure door 11 is adapted to provide access to the interior of arefrigerated compartment through an access opening provided therefor inthe forward wall 14 of the refrigerator. The safety lock device, whichis designated generally with the numeral 15, is shown secured to theouter panel 10 of the closure door, and works in conjunction with astrike or catch 16 that is secured to the outer panel of therefrigerator wall 14. The strike 16 may be completely conventional and,as is usual, is provided with a roller 17 over which the bolt of thesafety release device rolls when the closure door is swung to closedposition. The abutment member 18 which provides a mounting for theroller 17 is adapted to engage the bolt of the safety lock to preventoutward movement of the closure door until the bolt is drawn toretracted position.

The safety lock device 15 and the strike 16 may be secured to the outerpanels of the wall and closure door by any suitable means, and in theillustration given, a number of openings 19 are provided through thecasing 20 of the safety lock device, and a plurality of openings 21through the base 22 of the strike for passing bolts or screwstherethrough which will be threaded into the outer panels of the doorand Wall.

The casing 20 of the safety lock device has a base 23 and an elevatedcasing portion 24 disposed centrally thereon. The casing portion 24 hasa pasage 25 extending longitudinally therein, and mounted in the passage25 for slidable movement with respect thereto between extended andretracted positions is a bolt 26 hav- ",ing an arcuate outer surface 27that permits it to glide wardly, and pivotally mounted therebetween on apivot pin 30 is the head 31 of a draw arm 32. The pin 30 extendstransversely of the longitudinal axis of the bolt so as to permit thedrawn arm 32 to pivot up and down, as viewed in Figures 2 and 3. It isseen in Figure 5 that the head 31 of the draw arm is spaced from thehead 33 of the bolt so as to define a channel or open space 34therebetween. Extending into the channel 34 is the actuating finger 35of an outer handle 36 that is mounted for pivotal movement on the casingsection 24, on a pivot pin 37 that extends between spaced apart andadjacent the base is provided with an enlarged end ."Thelouter handle 36is generally arcuate and curves rearwardly toward the base 23 of thesafety lock device,

portion or abutment member 38. Extending slidably through an openingprovided therefor in the base 23, in line with the enlarged end portion38 of the outer handle, is an inner handle 39 having at its inner end anotched or serrated grip 4%). As is apparent from Figure l, the innerhandle 39 is adapted to extend through the door 11 with the grip 40being positioned interiorly thereof. To facilitate sliding movement in alongitudinal direction of the inner handle 39, a bearing 41 is mountedin the inner panel 12 of the door and passes the handle 39 therethrough.

The handle 39 is polygonal in cross section, and in the illustration issubstantially square. It passes freely through the opening provided inthe base 23 of the casing 20, and passes freely through a retainer plate42 secured by screws 43 to the base 23. The retainer plate incooperation with the base 23 constrains movement of a connector member44 when the inner handle 39 is moved longitudinally; but since theconnector member snugly receives the polygonal inner handle 39 Within anopening provided for that purpose, the connector member 44 rotates withthe handle. As is seen in Figure 4, the connector member 44 is providedwith a connector arm 45 which extends outwardly therefrom, and theretainer plate 42 is semi-circular and is adapted at each end thereof tobe abutted by the connector arm 45. Therefore, rotational movement ofthe connector plate and inner handle 33 is limited to an are slightlyless than 180".

Since the inner handle 39 is freely movable along its longitudinal axisthrough the base 23 of the casing, it is desired to provide means toprevent the inner handle from being withdrawn inadvertently from thebase and from the door 11; Therefore, the outer end of the inner handleis threaded, as shown at 46, and receives a lock nut 47 thereon which isadapted to seat within a recess 48 provided in the casing base when theinner handle is drawn to its most inward position. Preferably, the outertip of the inner handle is provided with an abutn'ient boss 49 adaptedto engage the enlarged end portion 38 of the outer handle (as shown bydotted lines in Figure 2) which, in providing a restricted area ofengagement, minimizes frictional resistance developed between the innerand outer handles when the inner handle is pushed outwardly to move theouter handle into the position shown by dotted lines in Figure 2.

' Normally, the draw arm 32 extends along the longitudinal axis of thebolt 26, as is best seen in Figure 2, and a coil spring 56 surrounds thearm 32, and at one end seats against the head 31 thereof and at itsother end seats against a stop wall 51 provided by the casing section 24in alignment with the passage 25 therein. Adjacent the end of the arm 32is an opening 52 that extends transversely through the casing section24, and is' adapted to receive a stop pin such as the link of a padlock.The opening 52, and therefore a lock link passed therethrough, isadjacent the end of the draw arm, and is in alignment with the upperportion thereof. With this arrangement, movement of either the outerhandle 36 or inner handle 39 in a direction tending to retract the bolt26 would be inhibited by abutment of the draw arm 32 with such link orstop pin. Means are provided, however, for by-passing such stop pin whenthe inner handle 39 is rotated, and the structural arrangement affordingthis arrangement will now be described.

The end portion of the draw arm 32 is bifurcated, as is most apparentfrom Figure 5, to form spaced apart arm portions 53 and 54 having apivot pin 55 extending there:

through that pivotally receives one end of a link 56. The link 56 at itsother end is adapted to extend through a longitudinal slot 57 formed ina connector coupling 58, and a pivot pin 59 then passed through anopening therefor in the link 56 constrains the same within the slot 57.The end portion 60-of the coupling connector 58 is turned downwardly,and a portion thereof is turned laterally so' as to extend in parallelrelation with the slot 57. That portion of the coupling is designatedwith the numeral 61, and has a threaded aperture 62 therethrough adaptedto receive a cap screw 63 which secures a lever 64 thereto. The lever 64at its opposite end is also provided with an opening therethrough forreceiving a cap screw 65 that anchors that end of the lever to theconnector arm 45 (Figure 4) and thereby to the inner handle 39. Thelever 64 intermediate the ends thereof may be provided with an aperturedcar 66 for receiving one end of a spring 67 having its other endfastened to the casing base 23.

The safety lock or latch device 15 when mounted as shown in Figure 1functions from the outside in a substantially conventional manner. Thatis, to retract the bolt 26 to permit the door to be opened, the outerhandle 36 is grasped and is moved into the position shown by dottedlines in Figure 2. When that handle is released, the spring 56 whichbiases the bolt 26 in extended position is effective to move the boltinto such position and to return the outer handle 36 to its normalposition, which is shown in Figures 1 through 3. Similarly, the innerhandle 35 functions in a substantially conventional manner, and isnormally in the position shown in Figure l and in full lines in Figure2. It may be used to retract the bolt 26 simply by pushing outwardlyagainst the grip 40 which then causes the handle to move along itslongitudinal axis through the casing base 23, into engagement with theouter handle 36, and moves that outer handle into the position shown bydotted lines in Figure 2 the same as if the outer handle had beengrasped directly and moved into such position. Releasing the innerhandle permits the spring 50 to return the bolt, outer handle and innerhandle to the normal positions thereof shown in Figures 1 and 2.

Now, if a padlock link is inserted through the lock opening 52 in thecasing section 24, the outer handle 36 cannot be moved nor can the innerhandle 39 as a result be moved longitudinally, because the link of sucha lock will be abutted by the draw arm 32, thereby immobilizing the bolt26. If the inner handle 39, however, is rotated in the direction shownin Figure 3, the fastener member 44 is rotated as is its arm 45 and thelever arm 64 connected thereto. Longitudinal movement of the lever arm64 imparts a downward and lateral force to the link 56 by its pivotalconnection to the lever 64 through the coupling member 58.

This downward and lateral force will be transferred to' against thebiasing action of the spring 50, also'as is shown in Figure 3. Thechannel 34 between the head 33 of the bolt and head 31 of the draw armis sufficient in' length'to permit the bolt to be drawn to retractedposition without engaging the finger 35 of the outer handle 36, as shownalso in Figure 3, whereby the closure door can be opened even thoughmanipulation of the outer handle 36 and normal'operation of the innerhandle 39 is prevented by the padlock link which extends through theopening 52 of thesafety lock device. When the inner handle 39 has thegrip 40 thereof released, the springs 50 and 67 will return the bolt 26to its extended position.

it should be noted that the safety release arrangement remains dormantuntil its use is necessitated. That is, ordinary operation or movementof the outer handle 36 and'inner handle 39 will not result in movementof the attachment member 44, the lever 64 nor the member 58, for'ordinary reciprocatory movement of the bolt 26 and" draw arm 32 willsimply result in the link 56 pivoting about the pin 59. As a result, noenergy is wasted in nor mal use of the safety lock device throughnecessity of manipulating these extra components, and of course there isno wear thereon. On the other hand, as has been brought out, when it isnecessary to rely on the safety release, the lever 64, attachment member44, etc. are rendered operative, and in their operative relation withthe other components of the lock provide the safety release feature.

While in the foregoing specification an embodiment of the invention hasbeen set forth in considerable detail for purposes of adequatelydescribing the invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in theart that numerous changes may be made in those details without departingfrom the spirit and principles of the invention.

I claim:

1. In a safety release lock structure, a lock casing providing a boltpassage therein, a bolt movable longitudinab ly within said passagebetween locked and unlocked positions, an outer handle connected withsaid bolt for moving the same from said locked position to said unlockedposition, spring means associated with said bolt to bias said bolt tosaid locked position, an inner handle extending through said casing andbeing movable into engagement with said outer handle to push the same toretract said bolt to unlocked position, said inner handle beingpivotally carried by said casing, a draw arm secured to said bolt forpivotal movement, a lever offset from said draw arm and connectedadjacent an end thereof to said inner handle so as to be movedlongitudinally upon rotation thereof, and linkage means connecting saiddrawn arm and lever, said casing being adapted to have a lock pinextended therethrough adjacent an end of said draw arm for abutmenttherewith to constrain movement of said outer handle and bolt, rotationof said inner handle being operative to pivot said draw arm to aposition clearing such lock pin whereby rotation of that handle shiftssaid bolt to retracted position.

2. In a lock structure of the character described having a casing, abolt movable longitudinally therein between extended and retractedpositions, an end portion of said bolt extendable outward of said casingto engage catch means associated with said casing, an outer handlemovable to retract said bolt, an inner handle movable axially withrespect to said casing for engagement with said outer handle to move itin a direction retracting said bolt, said inner handle being alsorotatable, a draw arm pivotally secured to said bolt and being movablealong the longitudinal axis thereof when said outer handle ismanipulated to retract the bolt, a lever oifset from the longitudinalaxis of said bolt and coupled with said inner handle so as to be pulledgenerally along its length when the inner handle is rotated, link andcoupling means extending between said draw arm and lever and beingpivotally connected to each, said casing having an opening therethroughextending transversely of said draw arm adjacent the end of said boltopposite said catch-engaging end and in alignment therewith for passingan abutment pin therethrough whereby such pin is abutted by said drawarm to prevent retraction of said bolt when said outer handle ismanipulated, said draw arm being pivoted clear of such pin when saidinner handle is rotated so as to retract said bolt.

3. In a lock structure of the character described having a casing, abolt movable therein between extended and retracted positions, an outerhandle movable to retract said bolt and an inner handle movable alongthe longitudinal axis thereof through said casing to engage said outerhandle and move it in a direction to retract said bolt, a draw armpivotally connected to said bolt for swinging movement about an axistransverse to the path of movement of said bolt, said draw arm beingnormally disposed in longitudinal alignment with said bolt and movabletherewith in such alignment when said outer handle is moved in adirection to retract the bolt either directly or through said innerhandle, said casing having an opening therethrough adapted to receivethe link of a lock member, said opening being disposed adjacent an endof said draw arm and in alignment therewith whereby longitudinalmovement of the draw arm is inhibited when such a lock link is inposition thereby preventing movement or" said outer handle, a linkconnected to said draw arm, a lever at one end being operativelyassociated with said inner handle and provided at its other end withmeans coupling said lever to said link, said inner handle beingrotatably carried by said casing operative upon rotation thereof topivot said draw arm to a position remote from said casing.

4. In a structure of the character set forth in claim 3, spring meansmounted at one end on said casing and having the other end thereofconnected to said lever whereby when rotative force is released fromsaid inner handle, said spring means urges said lever, said couplingmeans, said link and said draw arm to return said bolt to an extendedposition.

5. In a safety lock device adapted for use with the closure doors of arefrigerator structure, or the like, a casing adapted to be mounted onthe outer side of such a door and being equipped with a bolt shiftablebetween extended and retracted positions, an outer handle connected withsaid bolt for retracting the same, an inner handle extending throughsaid casing in alignment with a portion of said outer handle forengagement therewith to push the same outwardly to retract said bolt,spring means associated with said bolt for biasing said bolt intoextended position, said inner handle being adapted to extend through theclosure door of a refrigerator structure, lock means, when provided,being operative to normally inhibit movement of said bolt towardretracted position upon outward movement of said inner and outerhandies, and means connecting the inner end of said bolt with said innerhandle, said connecting means being operative to cause said bolt toavoid said lock means and to retract said bolt only upon rotation ofsaid inner handle, said connecting means comprising a draw arm pivotallymounted in the inner end of said bolt, said draw arm being normallyaligned with said bolt when retracted by outward movement of saidhandles, and further means connecting the end opposite the pivoted endof said draw arm with said inner handle, said further means beingoperative to pivot said draw arm out of alignment with said bolt toavoid said lock means.

6. In a door lock structure of the character described, a casingequipped with a bolt longitudinally movable therein between extended andretracted positions, inner and outer handles for moving said bolt tosaid retracted position, spring means associated with said bolt to biassaid bolt to said extended position, said bolt having a draw armpivotally mounted on the inner end thereof, said casing providing anopening therein adapted to receive a stop pin for inhibiting movement ofsaid bolt and draw arm toward retracted position upon outward movementof said outer and inner handles, said inner handle being normallymovable longitudinally outward to retract said bolt and draw arm, saidinner handle being carried by said casing for pivotal movement about thelongitudinal axis thereof, and linkage means within said casingconnecting said draw arm and inner handle for pivoting said draw armupon its pivotal connection with said bolt and out of alignmenttherewith upon rotation of said inner handle, said linkage means, whenso actuated, re tracting said bolt independently of said outer handle.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,617,287 Tobias Nov. 11, 1952 2,680,638 Groeger June 8, 1954 2,729,486Evans Ian. 3, 1956

